The Unsung Power of the Label League
A local labor group is turning to music, drama, and education to boost the influence of union labels over strikes.
Monday evening was entertainment night with the Ladies' Label League and those present listened to a well-rendered musical and literary program. Vocal solos were rendered by Mr. K. J. Edney and Mrs. Geo. Georgenson. Miss Graybill gave a dramatic reading. Mr. McRae rendered a piano solo, while Messrs. Anderson, Weston and Jacobson provided mandolin trio selections. Members of organized labor generally little realize the relation of a live label league to the labor movement of this city. There is no reason on earth why the league should not have five hundred members on its rolls. The little trade insignia has more potent power than strikes. A strike means loss of wages, privations and sufferings; the label is an instrument always ready at hand without the loss of an hour's earning. During June, the Trades Council and Label League will conduct a special campaign of organization and education, featuring Mrs. Rose B. Moore of Spokane as a special organizer.
“If one would only stop to think that the little trade insignia has more potent power than strikes.”
Long before digital boycott campaigns, the Label League organized consumers to use their spending power as a weapon for labor rights. This story highlights the often-overlooked role of women in the early 20th-century American labor movement.
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